Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Background
2.1. Muslim Women’s Status in the Mosque
2.2. Gender, Religion and Space
3. Method
- A member of Facebook;
- Muslim (convert or non- convert);
- Aged 18 years and above;
- Live in Australia;
- Attend their local mosque.
4. Findings: Analysis and Discussion
4.1. Demographic Profile
4.2. Motivation for Mosque Attendance
Attending the local mosque allows me to stay connected with the Muslim community and praying in a mosque helps to keep my Iman2 strong. I find I concentrate more on worship in the mosque and leave feeling accomplished. Attending my local mosque makes me feel positive and I like to think of the blessings we receive for praying together.(Jane, 28)
There are many reasons. One of the most important reasons is for the spiritual dimension associated with engaging in congregational prayer at a mosque. Acknowledging that praying in the mosque is not compulsory for women, attending the mosque sometimes is spiritually lifting.(Huda, 50)
During Ramadan for Tarawih, being at the mosque fulfils both community engagement and spiritual congregational prayers. Sometimes my attendance is linked to community events such as weddings, funerals or dropping children for religious classes.(Huda, 50)
4.3. Frequency of Mosque Attendance
As I work full time and as women are not required to pray in a mosque, I take one Friday off each month to attend Friday prayer. During Ramadan, I try to attend the mosque at least two to three times a week.(Jane, 28)
I do not attend mosque regularly as I do not live near a mosque.(Huda, 50)
I was prevented to pray in front of curtain. I hated to pray in a smelly and dark room at the back of the mosque which is the reason I stopped going to mosque.(Nadia, 43)
I don’t attend my local mosque anymore. I don’t believe it offers me anything—certainly the facilities are not conducive to be a spiritually aware space.(Noor, 57)
The women’s space is so small and dirty. I feel it is very unwelcoming place for women. That’s why I stopped going to mosque.(Aziza, 33)
No I don’t—there is nothing for women there…Imams don’t know anything to be able to advise women anything—apart from religious questions—and then they are slanted anyway—so if a woman wants to just pray, she can do that anywhere—and if she wants advice or community support, there are organisations that offer that outside the mosque setting, with qualified people.(Noor, 57)
No, when it humiliates women and excludes them from decision making, they should not attend, but if it is women friendly and empower women, why not?(Nadia, 43)
The majority of Muslim women are not regular attendees at the mosque: a main reason is busyness. Women juggle multiple roles, especially if they work or have young children or are carers. Another reason is accessibility. Most mosques are difficult to access by public transport. And the third and most important reason is that mosques generally are not a welcoming environment for women. Women entrances are usually small, at the back of the building and women’s prayer areas are small. If the microphone is not on as a woman in a back room, you don’t know what is happening. Generally, the experience is not inspiring or spiritual. Also, the strict adherence to segregation within the grounds of the mosque makes women feel unwelcome.(Huda, 50)
I don’t know if women ‘should’, but I wish the mosque was more welcoming to women. My understanding is that Friday prayers are an obligation for men, but not for women. I don’t understand this. Having experienced attending various churches as a child and teen, my understanding of the place of a mosque is very Christian in nature. I believe a place of worship should be a place of prayer and learning as well as a place for believers to socialise and encourage each other, regardless of their age or gender. If that isn’t what a mosque is, then what IS a mosque for?(Lilli, 42)
4.4. Views on Gender Segregation
Gender segregation heightens the sense that women are ‘othered’ in the house of God. It makes me feel unnecessarily sexualised and second class to the men.(Aziza, 33)
I personally would prefer to have men on one side and women on the other at the very least. However, during the vigil at one mosque, we weren’t segregated at all and it was lovely. I am single, but I see my married friends sitting away from their husbands. I feel it tears families apart in some ways. I also don’t like husbands and wives not being able to pray together in the mosque. What message is this for the children; that men and women can’t be trusted to be together, that they can’t even pray together? It seems that men get the best spaces; this isn’t just true of mosques, but in a holy place, this isn’t a good message for anyone.(Lilli, 44)
Segregation makes me feel like a second-class citizen. Segregation is gender-based discrimination. I’ve never experienced gender-based discrimination anywhere else on this level in my life. It makes me feel like I’m less worthy than the men in the community. I feel excluded from what is happening in the main hall. Even if I can watch the proceedings in the back room on TV it’s not the same as being in the main hall. I might as well stay at home and watch it on the TV at home.(Maria,42)
I disagree 100%; it is very humiliating, and un-Islamic. At the time of Prophet, men and women were praying together. It reduces women as objects and causes troubles. It is patriarchal and misogynist act. When men and women are equally participating in society and mix in different institutions such as health, education, politics, why need to be segregated in mosque?(Nadia, 45)
I hate it immensely. I just don’t see the need for gender segregation to the extent that our mosques do it…every other religious congregation sits with their families and we have to be separated…I can go to Mecca and have prayers standing with my husband, but I can’t at any other mosques!.(Noor, 57)
I started to learn about Islam from friends in Pakistan. They told me ‘women may not go to the Mosque because this what the Holy Quran says’. But my understanding is that in the time of our Prophet Mohammad, women did pray side by side with their men.(Nina, 58)
Gender segregation is more of a tradition, rather than adopting Islamic rulings. Although women should have an option of having a private space away from men, it is not necessary for men and women to be completely separate. In fact, it actually can cause further issues.(Sofia, 31)
When I visited our local mosque in my city and walked to the ladies’ room at the back of the mosque, I used to feel suffocated, not much room for everyone to sit, very crowded with kids and mums, old ladies can’t sit on the floor comfortably. Furthermore, I could not hear the Imam’s speech (khutbah), which was delivered via the big screen in the room, because of the crowd in the very small space. In addition, when I was there, I got worried about my kids all the time, they used to go out and in for the whole time, which is not safe because the mosque is located on the main road and has no fence to be closed.(Donya, 50)
I do hold reservations about the quality of the space offered to women at times, though mosque authorities, I have noticed, they are generally beginning to address this issue. I also have issues with gender segregation when it is taken to the extent that women cannot see the Imam except through a televised projection. Men and women should have equal access to knowledge and gender segregation can be a hindrance at times.(Jamila, 37)
Don’t start me about social settings. I do have major problems when women are relegated to dark, dingy, dirty rooms, no facilities or comfort, no ability to hear anything, etc.(Noor, 57)
It would be fair to have one entrance and one prayer room for both women and men sitting side by side, not in separate rooms where usually women’s room is at the back somewhere. It is smelly and you can suffocate. It is very degrading.(Badra, 69)
Segregation within the grounds of the mosque makes women feel uncomfortable. Segregation inside the mosque is ok if the spaces are welcoming and not an afterthought. It seems that all mosques have been designed with men in mind and the spaces for women are decided on later, as an afterthought, which makes women’s experience of the mosques one of frustration, rather than inspiration and spiritual.(Huda, 50)
I’m not actually against segregation as long as both genders are provided equal facilities and ease. Instead, women’s sections are heavily neglected in care and consideration, making it a hostile place to be.(Sofia, 31)
I prefer gender segregation as women tend to feel more comfortable and ‘let go’. They are also given the opportunity to have closed or open discussions with their fellow sisters in such spaces—without feeling like they are being monitored or watched. For women with children—they tend to feel more relaxed in segregated spaces. I prefer the segregation, especially whilst conducting study circles, as it is a safe space where open discussions can be had without judgment.(Shakufa, 36)
I am fine with it. Because the mosque is a spiritual place, I feel the gender segregation helps with the focus and comfort for both genders of all ages.(Sakina, 45)
I agree with gender segregation during prayers and sermons. Men and women are privy by nature to desire each other—especially during teenage years. This becomes a distraction from what going to the mosque is actually about.(Aliya, 32)
I believe it is a positive attribute of the mosque and allows men and woman to focus on worship rather than being distracted by the other sex. Especially for single men and women. I also feel with the genders separated, the women have the opportunity to bond with other women in the community and form relationships, exactly the same as men. I don’t have any issues with gender segregation in mosques and feel it is fine.(Jane, 28)
I think that for worshipping purposes, segregation is important but there is no immediate need for physical separation during classes or lessons. For example, some mosques or Islamic learning centres teach men and women in the same room (men on one side, women on the other). I think this is appropriate as it still creates segregation but does not restrict women by placing them in another room or behind men. I think that men and women should have equal access to mosques and the way that mosques are built should take segregation into consideration more. Often women’s entrances are at the back of the mosque and women only areas are small and have restricted viewing/hearing of the Imam. In these cases, proper audio/visual equipment should be set up. Ideally, mosques should have two entrances at the front, for men and women respectively. Women’s sections should be private but allow for women to see and hear the Imams at the front of the mosque. For example, some mosques have women’s sections on the upper floor allowing women to look down onto the men’s section and see/hear the Imam.(Therese, 23)
4.5. Experience of Gender Discrimination
Before I was not a practising Muslim and when I attempted to attend [name of the mosque] Mosque, I was not covered, and I was unsure of where to go. A man was very rude and shoo’d me away.(Maria, 42)
I haven’t experienced any direct discrimination. However, I have wanted to talk with the Imam and felt that I couldn’t as he was surrounded by men in a men’s space.(Lilli, 44)
I always feel uncomfortable if I attend the mosque for any reason.(Badra, 69)
It felt as if I was not wanted and it was not for women. But it was not said. Simply cold and not welcoming.(Nina, 58)
Women are made to feel unseen, unheard, unworthy distractions which is very unfortunate. There is not a welcoming vibe for women in mosques. This is not only perpetuated by men but also by women, unfortunately.(Sofia, 31)
When I used to go to the mosque, I didn’t feel comfortable physically (crowded place) and emotionally because the way the Imam of the mosque and the other men deal with me and women in general there. Many times when I went there, I tried to greet male friends from the community normally, however, they ran away and didn’t look at me, or sometimes they tried to avoid me, which left me uncomfortable, especially those males/men behaved completely different outside the mosque, and always I asked myself, if the mosque changes people, they should change and be better human beings, not be rude and unfriendly.(Donya, 50)
The horrible spaces that women pray get crammed into is a form of discrimination. Out of the way, out of sight, crowded and noisy. I also don’t like feeling uncomfortable when occupying a non-segregated communal space and feel like the men look at me like I’m not supposed to be there.(Aziza, 33)
I often felt as second class human being there, a piece of “meat” who should hide her body and voice and go and sit quietly at the back in a room which was once use as a garage, her only responsibility to keep the kids quiet and listen and not participate in the discussion in the main room. It was a discrimination.(Donya, 50)
The fact that women’s spaces are not of the same standard as men, and the entrance to women’s space is not welcoming, is a form of design discrimination. While there is no specific incident, there is a general feel of not being welcome when I go to the mosque. Having to be on guard, stay away from men spaces and not feel comfortable to just hang around and talk to people in the same way that men do, is akin to gender-based discrimination.(Huda, 50)
I wasn’t allowed in the men’s section to pray, even though it was Fajr6 time and no other women were around, the speakers weren’t set up, the women’s area wasn’t open and I was going to stand at the back of the hall for my prayer—got stopped on the stairs…eventually got up there, had my prayers on the veranda, and then got told by someone in authority that they had opened the area for women, and I told them that I had finished anyway! Wrote some obscure post about it on FB, without identifying the mosque, and got a phone call a few hours later from the mosque committee telling me to take it down…my regret was that I did…they thought that I had changed and been a bit more community focussed and were disappointed that I was up to my old tricks of calling out bullshit when I see it—it disappointed them, even though I didn’t name them—guilty conscience! So, it seemed I wasn’t a team player…so they bullied me into taking it down! I gave in(Noor, 57)
Because of the segregation of spaces, I felt I couldn’t, as a woman, go into the male space and speak with the Imam. In my opinion, the atmosphere of segregated spaces doesn’t encourage women and girls to speak up, rather, like in my case, it can be a barrier. It is a discrimination(Lilli, 44)
I was asked to give a speech from the back of the mosque as it was deemed inappropriate for a woman to speak from down the front of the mosque. I have been prevented from entering into the main hall of mosques and instead directed to women’s sections which are much more cramped and confined than the men’s sections. Some women’s sections are converted storerooms at the back of the hall. One was a run-down dilapidated house next door to the men’s multimillion-dollar marble structures. There is no equity in the design or size of the two facilities.(Maria, 42)
I attended our local mosque and I didn’t like white sheet hanging in the middle of the prayer room to separate males and females. That was in 2010. I have never returned there. I did not attend other mosques at my city. I felt excluded and discriminated.(Sarah, 35)
I have never felt discrimination in a mosque for being a woman; this includes mosques in Australia, Makkah, Madinah and small Masjids7 on the side of the road in Saudi.(Jane, 28)
Not that I have personally experienced. And this is despite being a traveller (with my family) and often stopping at mosques to pray. My husband also makes a conscious effort to ensure that my daughters and I enter the mosque (wherever it is—and even if it does not have specific female facilities for prayer) and pray in congregation. This may have helped my positive experiences.(Shakufa, 36)
No discrimination! In fact, I have always found men to be respectful and considerate in the Muslim community, more than Aussie/western men at least.(Aliya, 32)
4.6. Insulting Lectures or Khutbahs
I heard some insulting khutbah but can’t recall the exact one. It has been so long since I went to a mosque—it would be an Eid khutbah.(Aziza, 33)
Most of the time, I didn’t feel emotionally comfortable with the Khutbah, which contains violence, hatred, discrimination against women and against others (non-Muslims…). In the past, I used to leave the mosque with headaches and stress, because of the Imam’s loud voice, yelling and screaming in anger. His Khutbah, instead of giving me good knowledge of Islam, made me feel sick, physically and emotionally. I used to get worried about my kids listening to his speech, which is not really suitable for them. One day, I was listening to one of popular Imams in Australia; he was invited by the mosque to give a Khutbah. He said that “in the time of Prophet Muhammed, and when the Muslims migrated to Al Medina, the people of Al Medina offered their wives to the migrant Muslims to marry them!! He said to migrants “you left your wives in Mecca and you need new wives here, and every man has more than one wife, can divorce the second and give her to his Muslim brother”……from that day, I have not been to the mosque. Thanks God, my son was playing outside and didn’t pay attention to that Khutbah.(Donya, 50)
This has happened a couple of times during weddings at the mosque. When reference is made to women’s responsibilities in marriage and the importance of obedience to husbands without reference to men’s responsibilities and roles. Is frustrating, disappointing and is a reflection of the medieval views that some of our Imams hold. This is common among Imams who are new to Australia. I have not been to the mosque in a long time, so I am not sure what the state of affairs is now. I hope it has changed, but I am not holding my breath.(Huda, 50)
I personally haven’t but friends have and were in shock afterwards. I have heard one particular Imam speak and give advice as well as answering questions when I was deeply offended by what he said. It wasn’t because I was a woman, however, but because to my mind he lacked cultural sensitivity. Unfortunately, that particular Imam seems to see things in very black and white terms. I feel this is unhelpful in this society.(Lilli, 44)
I have heard lots of Khutbahs that promote stereotypes such as women being soft and submissive and men being strong and impactful. Women having the role of being a mother whereas men’s role is to earn the living. Men as the leaders of the family, etc. I have also heard lots of emphasis on women covering themselves with long loose clothing and headscarves and women made to feel ashamed about dressing differently to that, in see-through or shorter length clothing.(Maria, 42)
One in Eid Khutbah, that Imam said according to Prophet, women comprise majority of Hell, so they need to work harder to please God!! Another time men and women’s role are completely based on private and public. Women’s place is at home encouraging polygamy.(Nadia, 43)
When I was younger, I enjoyed listening to the talks offered and had a very romantic view of religion. I looked forward to being the ‘ideal’ Muslim woman, getting married and supporting my husband with his leadership roles, etc. The problem is that I never got married and I have struggled to understand my role and value in a system that gives much importance to women as wives and mothers. I don’t feel insulted, but I feel a bit left out and under-valued at times.(Jamila, 37)
I have never heard a lecture or Khutbah that made me feel uncomfortable as a woman. I feel as though speakers, in this day, are considerate of all people, aiming to make lectures and Khutbahs to inspire and educate Muslims, rather than deter them.(Jane, 28)
I don’t attend Friday prayers, so I have not. In the two or three occasions that I did attend, there was nothing offensive against women.(Sakina, 45)
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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1 | prayer and sermon delivered in the mosques. |
2 | Believer’s faith in the metaphysical aspects of Islam. |
3 | Additional ritual prayers performed by Muslims at night during the holy month of Ramadan. |
4 | Festival or feast. |
5 | Month of fasting. |
6 | dawn prayer. |
7 | Mosques. |
8 | Prophet Mohammad’s daughter. |
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Ghafournia, N. Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque. Religions 2020, 11, 686. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11120686
Ghafournia N. Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque. Religions. 2020; 11(12):686. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11120686
Chicago/Turabian StyleGhafournia, Nafiseh. 2020. "Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque" Religions 11, no. 12: 686. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11120686
APA StyleGhafournia, N. (2020). Negotiating Gendered Religious Space: Australian Muslim Women and the Mosque. Religions, 11(12), 686. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11120686